Volume 6, Issue 3/4
March/April 2017
Fort Tejon
Historical Association
A D J U N T A N T ’ S
C i v i l
J O U R N A L
w a r
w e d d i n g
C A L E N D A R
O F E V E N T S

March 19—FTHA
board meeting at TGIF
restaurant,
Northridge

April 1—Dragoons
Living History at fort

April 1-2—Moorpark
Civil War
re-enactment

April 22-23—Cowboy
Festival, Santa Clarita

May 6 - SLHP
training/ Dragoons
Living History at fort

June 3-4 - Fort Tejon
Civil War
re-enactment
On February 11, 2017 at the
Strathearn Civil War encampment,
FTHA president, Karina Mooradian
exchange marriage vows with
Kevin Dunbar in the old St. Rose
Lima Church. It was a grand affair
attended by family and friends of
the bride and groom. President
Abraham Lincoln officiated at the
ceremony. The lovely bride
beamed as she walked down the
aisle singing “A Thousand Years”.
The cake was cut in the gazebo
following the ceremony. At the
reception feted in the barn, the
new Mrs. Dunbar danced a
centuries old traditional Armenian
bride’s dance for her groom.
I N S I D E T H I S
I S S U E :
Civil War Wedding
1
The Waller Journals
1
Dragoon article
2
Letter writing advice
3
T h e
Healthy Juices
3
Editor’s Notes
4
Bits and Pieces
4
W a l l e r
J o u r n a l s
The George E. Waller Story is a factual account about a young medical student embarking on the
great adventure of his life. He is attending the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond. After graduating he and his brothers becomes caught up in the country’s state of affairs. He, like most, didn’t want
this war, but like most young men his age he didn’t want to miss out on the biggest
event of his life time.
The whole town was abuzz, all the young men wanted to enlist. George enlisted as a
private but soon was promoted to hospital steward and eventually to assistant surgeon.
Now follow him from the lecture halls of medical school to the battlefields of the Civil
War.
The Waller Journals is written by longtime FTHA member, David Cotton and is
available at www.wallerjournals.com.
P a g e
2
F o r t
THE OCTOBER 1856 MUSTER ROLL OF COMPANY A, 1
DRAGOONS
B y
G e o r g e
R .
T e j o n
S T
US
S t a m m e r j o h a n
The following is the Bi-Monthly Muster Roll of Company A, 1st U.S. Dragoons, stationed at Fort Tejon, California, for the period September and October
1856. The enlisted men noted here were at Fort Tejon during the whole year of 1856, except when detached for field duty or work details.
*Editor’s Note: first installment of article
The Headquarters, and all companies of a regiment were “mustered” every two months of each year. This
“mustering” process was performed at the end of February, April, June, August, October and December. At a required
muster period, Company First Sergeants and company clerks, or the regimental Sergeant Major and the regimental clerk
prepared the “Muster Rolls” for their designated units. The muster roll of a company organized the non-commissioned
staff by order of rank, “Orderly” (or First) Sergeant and the three ranking sergeants: 2nd Sergeant, 3rd Sergeant and 4th
Sergeant. Then, the four corporals were listed, followed by the company buglers (or Musicians) and then the
“Farrier/Blacksmith” who held the pay grade of a corporal. This was then followed by the privates in the company, arranged by alphabetical order.
Pertinent data was then added in line with each soldier’s name. This data included date and place of enlistment,
when last paid, and in the “remarks column”, such information as status of enlistment, bounties due or “stoppages”, and
various company assignments, and if the soldier was due “extra duty pay.”
Extra duty pay was awarded by the department branch for extra duty assigned and did not constitute normal
monthly salary. E.D. pay could consist of amounts from 15-50 cents per day depending on duty.
Prior pay date told the Paymaster at what date the soldier was “Paid Up to”; it did not mean when the soldier was
last paid, which might be three-four or six months before. This payment date gave the paymaster an idea of how many
months of pay the individual soldier was owed. Stoppages against his pay was then deducted from the total amount due.
Bounty payments were based upon a government formula of how re-enlistment bounties were owed, usually on a
yearly basis, over a four year period, and might add a substantial sum to the coinage received at “Pay Call.”
“Stoppages”, were sums of money owed the government, to be deducted from the total amount of pay due, before the dragoon could receive his actual due. He might owe as little as a “lost number” from the collar of his uniform
jacket, i.e.: one cent; or a lost set of spurs and straps: $1.10. The fact that the private might have lost only one spur was
immaterial; spurs and straps were counted as pairs and a pair of spurs and straps equaled one dollar and ten cents from
the soldiers’ salary. The loss of an M-1842 Percussion pistol equaled seven dollars, and an “Overcoat” cost the soldier
seven dollars. A Colt Dragoon revolver could cost $25.00 before 1858. The price for a Dragoon revolver or a Navy Colt
went to $50.00 per item after that date. Each lost item had a price and unless a Board of Survey forgave the soldier of his
loss, the price of government property came out of his salary. Even a dead man, lost in the line of duty, was assessed lost
property before his final payment could be settled.
For re-enlisted soldiers, who had signed up before 30 days passed their last discharge, there was a bonus. First
re-enlistments entitled the soldier to a $2.00 a month addition to his pay and a second enlistment entitled the ten year
veteran to $3.00 extra per month.
Re-enlistment bonuses, as a method of retaining veteran soldiers, and there were often many second and third
enlistment troopers with the 1st Dragoons, were added as “quarterly-by-year” amounts to the soldier’s payroll. First enlistment bonus (a quarter of the re-enlistment bonus) were often paid on the first payroll after re-enlistment. This often accounted for desertion for a second enlistment soldier. He had his regular pay, plus his $2.00 second enlistment addition
plus his first quarter bonus...enough money to fly the coop. And, if he stole government weaponry and wasn’t caught, he
had a substantial grub stake to escape out into the civilian world.
If a deserter, as described above, was caught he would find himself owing the Army the $30.00 paid to a civilian
for catching him, plus any lost government property or uniforms abandoned while he fled the army unit. If he also stole a
horse, which was very rare in the 1850’s, he was charged from $140.00-$160.00 for the horse if it was not reclaimed by
the Army. Some captured deserters found themselves not only owning the government many months of bad time, but also
substantial amounts of money. This meant that except for his “laundry bill”, he saw no income for years at a time.
V o l u m e
6 ,
I ss u e
3 / 4
P a g e
3
Ladies’ Corner
UNION SOLDIERS AND THE NORTHERN HOME FRONT
Edited by Paul Cimbala & Randall Miller
Miss Leslie’s Behavior Book, published in 1859, offered the soldiers
another source from which to obtain the proper “dos” and “don’ts” of letter
writing. Miss Leslie warned letter writers that within their missives they left
“written evidence either of … good sense or … folly … industry or carelessness
… self-control or communication of proper sentiments.” For courting couples,
“letters should discuss interests, tastes, and character so that mutual Esteem
and Respect can develop.” Above all, Miss Leslie instructed would-be correspondents that “a letter is of no use unless it conveys some information,
excites some interest, or affords some improvement.” Many nineteenth-century
letter writers followed her advice by using correspondence as a vehicle to refine
their penmanship, improve their grammar, or enhance their knowledge on a
chosen subject.
As can be seen in this brief look at Victorian standards for introduction and
courting, even without the restrictive conditions of war, courting rituals were
time-consuming and cumbersome. Although the rules were designed to aid
both sexes in their search for the most appropriate mate, during the war,
etiquette became yet another barrier to be overcome. Soldiers could not leave
their posts to meet respectable ladies, and respectable ladies, at least not in
large numbers, did not visit the field. This is neither to suggest that women
were not present in the camps, nor that women who were there could not be
respectable. Thousands of women followed the units as laundresses and
general helpers and would not have considered themselves to be anything but
respectable. Although prostitutes followed the troops, few men would consider
establishing an intimate relationship with these women beyond the sexual level.
Likewise, although Civil War dances were popular, only a minority of soldiers
who were either on leave or posted in nearby camps attended them. These
confining circumstances of war and the rules of etiquette allowed soldiers few
opportunities to meet appropriate women.
The small number of women the soldiers came into contact with did not
satisfy their needs for an intimate relationship because they were either nurses
(usually older and treated by the soldiers in a maternal manner), other soldiers’
mothers and wives, prostitutes, or “secesh” women. Appointed as the superintendent of women nurses for the Union Army by Secretary of War Simon
Cameron, Dorothea Dix was commissioned “to select and assign women nurses
to general or permanent military hospitals.” Elizabeth Leonard suggests in her
study of northern women’s war work that Dix had such strict requirements
because she hoped to head off the public’s concerns. She recognized the
impropriety of young, single female nurses in the midst of large groups of men,
without the protection of home. Dix preferred that her nurses be between the
“ages of thirty-five and fifty and of strong health and matronly appearance, and
must display good conduct, or superior education….maintain habits of neatness, order, sobriety and industry, and present certificates of qualification and
good character from two individuals.”
Grin and Bear It
At the Battle of Vicksburg during the Civil War, a servant
girl accidently poured out a basin containing Ulysses. S.
Grant’s false teeth into the Mississippi River. He was
unable to eat solid food for a week until a dentist came
and made him a new set of choppers.
Health Juices
Juices have been found to be
particularly helpful with certain
conditions. These treatments were
common knowledge one hundred years ago. They
are found in Old-Fashioned Health Remedies that Work
Best.
Carrot Juice - has a positive effect upon colitis.
Cabbage Juice– good for the treatment of pepticulcers. Use the loose outside leaves rather than the
head.
Celery Juice - this is a good aid in fighting
hyperacidity.
Spinach Juice - very useful in relieving dyspepsia.
Pear Juice - used particularly to aid digestion and
relieve colitis.
Lemon Juice - effective for the treatment of nausea.
Do not use when there is inflammation of the
stomach or intestines.
Grape Juice– use as a mild laxative.
Julia Ward Howe (1819-1910) sold her
poem, Battle Hymn of the Republic, which
later was set to music to the Atlantic
Monthly in 1862 for $5.
FORTTEJON.ORG
EDITORS’ NOTES
Kind Readers,
It is one of my favorite times of the year, Spring.
The poppies are starting to bloom on the hills
F O R T
T E J O N
H I S T O R I C A L
A S S O C I A T I O N
around the fort and the air is crisp and clean from the rains.
Thanks to all who took the time to wish me well after my neck
surgery. My doctor tells me I am his model patient - following all
FTHA
P.O. Box 1424
Simi Valley, CA 93062
Acknowledgements
Sean Malis - Dragoon article
Karina Dunbar—photos, Union Soldiers article
Linda Bosley—photos
Remedies from the Red Lights - Health Juices
the prescribed protocols. The healing process is going well and I
hope to be driving myself up to the fort in mid-April.
The board is gearing up for our annual Civil War re-enactment
the first weekend of June. We need volunteers to help with set
up, the gate and go-fer duties. Contact any board member if you
can help out.
I’ve been asked recently if current FTHA members are
allowed to attend board meetings. Absolutely. You can address
Adjutant's Journal
the board with questions or concerns or just sit in and listen to
the process of how the FTHA conducts business.
Linda Bosley
Email—[email protected]
Bits and pieces
New FTHA Storage
The FTHA recently purchased a
used cargo container - 40 feet long
with roll up door. The new storage
container will accommodate the
many items that we used to stage the
Civil War Program, July 4th, Victorian
Tea Party and Ghost Walk. Thanks to
Board member, John Billinger, for his
negotiating skills and tenacity not
only in getting a great price but also
staying on top of the ever changing
delivery schedule. Special thanks to
Ranger Jack Gorman for overseeing
the delivery.
FTHA Membership
Applications
A gentle reminder that 2017
FTHA membership applications
are now available. The 2017
membership form is attached to
this email. Full individual,
family and supporting memberships are greatly appreciated
and show the State Park and
Recreation Department that our
beloved fort has the support of
people throughout California
and other states. Thanks to all
members who have already
sent in their forms.